Day #8 - Lawrence of Arabia, Part 1

I decided that movies 4 HOURS long count for two days :) So tonight I'm going to start watching Lawrence of Arabia - this review is going to be more of an informational post and then tomorrow I'll give the full review. Cool? Cool.

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/

1962 - Lawrence of Arabia won 7 Oscars out of 10 nominations. Wins were for Best Picture, Best Director (David Lean), Best Sound, Best Music (Score), Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif both lost in their respective categories - Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. My first thought is...who on EARTH did they lose to? Let's find out, shall we? Well, Sharif lost to Ed Begley in Sweet Bird of Youth, but O'Toole lost to...wait for it....wait for it...Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. If you're gonna lose to anyone, that's not so bad :)

David Lean is also responsible for directing such movies as Dr. Zhivago and Bridge on the River Kwai. He is known for epic, visually stunning films. I believe Peter O'Toole was a relative unknown when he was cast in the role of Lawrence - it seems strange that he was ever an unknown! He is now 77 years old and has been nominated for 8 Oscars but with 0 wins. He's Irish, which surely I should have known by his last name but never really thought about it.

OK so - a little over 2 hours into the movie, I am LOVING it. I thought it would take me awhile to get into it, but it really didn't. We turned on the subtitles which has actually been really helpful, especially when discussing peoples' names, the Arab tribes and the various cities. What I really wonder about, is to whom is Lawrence really loyal? He seems to want personal glory but yet seems loyal to the Arabs as well. When he returns to Cairo after taking Aqaba, I love how he takes his servant Fajjah with him and demands he be served lemonade and given a bed with sheets. He also won't take off his Arab garb - does he do this for theatrics or is he truly respecting the Arab men he'll return to? That's what I'm most curious to find out tomorrow night. The music is AMAZING and I'm more impressed with the acting than I anticipated - I love Peter O'Toole's piercing blue eyes and Omar Sharif? Hot. :) C'mon, you know it wouldn't a proper review without my standard comments!! :)